Talk by: Prof. Zygmunt Pizlo, Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University

Title: Human Visual Perception: the Role of a Priori Constraints

Abstract: Contrary to Fechner's (1860) conjecture, perception can be adequately studied when the percept is viewed as a result of solving an ill-posed inverse problem, rather than as a function of a stimulus. This fact was first appreciated by Gestalt Psychologists who demonstrated the role of a priori constrains in visual perception. Gestalt's contributions, as well as limiations of their approach will be presented. Then, the role of constraints in binocular vision will be discussed in view of recent psychophysical and simulation experiments.